Who are the gatekeepers in speaking in a foreign language

Have you too seen this advertisement for an AI language learning tool?

A real human being is being corrected by an AI tutor. And the immediate reaction is: Oh, I am sorry.

Many of us behave as if there was a gatekeeper hindering us from communicating in a foreign language.

We feel we need to get some kind of permission to start communicating.

We need first to have all the necessary certificates.

Or some authority figure needs to officially allow us to open our mouth.

The problem is that we are very insecure in our language skills.

However, we will only start feeling more competent after practicing real-life conversation for countless hours. It is not the other way around.

Yes, I know. There are lots of countries with crazy licensing laws where there are bureaucratic gatekeepers for almost every profession.

But even in those countries you are still allowed to express yourself in a foreign language without any license.

Yes, it makes sense to have practical tests before issuing a driver’s license, and it seems practical to do the same before selling machineguns.

However, there is no immediate danger if you make some grammar mistakes or say something incomprehensible in a foreign language.

And, with the ever-increasing number of communication problems among native speakers (in relationships or across the political spectrum), what are we so worried about?

 

What do you think? Leave a comment below.

 

 

--

 

Want to get rid of insecurity and bad feelings regarding the foreign language(s) you have already started to learn? Want to learn a new language, without going through various levels of standard courses? You feel you are making no progress?

Go to Amazon and grab a copy of my classic book ”The GO Method – breaking barriers to language learning”.

https://www.amazon.com/GO-Method-Breaking-barriers-language/dp/1973118688/ref=sr_1_1?crid=ZLMGYKR6PDY3&keywords=Gerhard+Ohrband&qid=1694099394&sprefix=gerhard+ohrband+%2Caps%2C239&sr=8-1

Get the first two chapters for free by subscribing to Gerhard's weekly newsletter, with advice and resources on selling in foreign languages. Just click here.

--

 

Do you feel a bit insecure when doing business internationally, maybe even in a foreign language?

 

Profit from new strategies, insights and techniques that will make you use foreign languages more successfully in international business communication.

 

Get rid of fear of mistakes and blocks during trade shows, presentation and sales calls.

 

Gerhard Ohrband is a communication consultant, psychologist and author of 9 books from Hamburg/Germany. He speaks 11 languages fluently and assists individuals and companies in doing business in foreign languages.

 

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why we need to train talking to bad people

Image
We live in a polarized world. Covid, migration, the Ukraine war, gender (and gender pronouns) or climate change: There is an ever-growing list of possibilities for division, for separating between our ingroup and the outgroup, between the good and the bad guys (and girls). Many of us simply refuse to speak to people with other opinions. We often hear this as an advice. You shouldn’t/cannot speak with evil people. Well, this is actually a very dangerous advice. The more we retreat from engaging in dialogue with people with other opinions and positions, the more vulnerable we become as communicators. This is one explanation why populist politicians are becoming so successful worldwide. Many establishment politicians have been living in a conversational bubble for years. They have been asked predictable and softball questions by more or less friendly journalists and colleagues. They have tried to build firewalls against their opponents. In short, they have relaxed the conversa...
Read more

10 situations you should practice in your language courses

Image
If you are familiar with contemporary language education, you will understand that practicing conversation during lessons is a key element for success. For previous generations, this was not the norm. Also due to classroom size and unprepared or insecure teachers, foreign language instruction relied heavily on pen and paper exercises. The result: excellent grades did not equal being able to talk freely. The next level is assessing how communication should be practiced. For many language learners, communication is just one homogenous block of activity. There are, however, considerable differences between ·         Preparing at home vs. reacting spontaneously ·         Talking to the teacher vs. communicating in small groups with other students ·         Focusing on playing it safe vs. experimenting with new ways of saying things ·      ...
Read more

5 proven ways to effectively self-sabotage your language learning

Image
In self-improvement and self-development, many of us have a hording or accumulative mentality: More skills, more life hacks, more insights. Often, the key is to just throw out mental clutter. As a psychologist myself, I am afraid to over-psychologize everything. Nonetheless, it is safe to say that more than 50% of our success of acquiring a new language depends on psychological issues: ·         Patience: Am I ready to wait years before expecting authentic fluency? ·         Self-discipline: Can I stick to a daily learning routine for more than 21 days? ·         Self-image: Do I really see myself as communicating fluently in foreign languages? ·         Risk-avoidance or tolerance: Am I willing to enter a conversation not being perfectly prepared? ·         Reactions to setbacks and failures: Should ...
Read more